Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

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Recent Episodes

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Short Stuff: North Sentinel Island Wednesday, September 10, 2025

One of the last uncontacted people in the world live in the Bay of Bengal and they have made it clear they don’t want you to visit.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The Man with the Golden Arm Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Aussie James Harrison gave blood close to 1,200 times over a 60 year period and saved 2.5 million babies in the process. That makes him a hero. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Selects: Noise Pollution: Arrrgh! Saturday, September 6, 2025

If you’ve ever found your blood pressure rising because some guy down the street doesn’t know how to keep the trigger on a leaf blower pulled all the way, then you’ve experienced noise pollution. Not only is it annoying, it turns out it’s deadly too! Learn all about it in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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America’s Militarized Police Thursday, September 4, 2025

In the 1960s, America took stock of itself when scores of low-income cities broke out in riots. It found that racism was at the root of many social problems. Instead of addressing the underlying issues, the country decided instead to militarize the police.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Short Stuff: The Mpemba Effect Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Why does water seem to freeze faster when it starts out warmer?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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How Dolphins Work! Tuesday, September 2, 2025

E-e-e-eek! E-e-e-eek, we say! Adding to the tradition of our wonderful animal episodes we contribute this amazing installment on one of the all-time great sea creatures, the dolphin! Attach a sponge to your rostrum and dive in with Josh and Chuck!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Selects: What Were the BONE WARS? Saturday, August 30, 2025

A pair of old timey fossil hunters had a rootin’ tootin’ rivalry that spilled from academic journals into the American Wild West - where fossils were dynamited and employees turned double agent. Learn about the two-fisted origins of American paleontology in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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What are Blue Zones? Thursday, August 28, 2025

Blue zones are areas where people supposedly have more 100+ year-olds than average. But is it all based on faulty records?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Short Stuff: 1561 Celestial Event Wednesday, August 27, 2025

An amazing case of an early modern mass sighting of UFOs came in Nuremberg, Germany in 1561. Except it wasn’t that at all.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The History of Orthodontics Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Crooked teeth have always been a thing, but it took us a long time to do something about it. Learn about the twisted history of orthodontics today!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Selects: The Flannen Isles Mystery Saturday, August 23, 2025

In December 1900 three lighthouse keepers vanished without a trace from a deserted island in Scotland. To this day no one knows exactly what happened to them. Find out all about this strange situation in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Private Equity: Your Ears Will Bleed Thursday, August 21, 2025

Private equity is a business operation where companies are bought and run at their leanest to maximize returns for a handful of investors. It can be a lifeline for a flailing company or run it into the ground. Either way, PE firms make out like bandits.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Short Stuff: The Lost (?) Continent of Lemuria Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Why aren't there lemurs in Africa? That question created a whole theory about a lost continent. Turns out it's not true.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The Unsolved Murder of Hall and Mills Tuesday, August 19, 2025

In 1922, a pastor and his mistress were murdered in New Jersey. Nobody was ever convicted of the crime even though it seems clear who did it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Selects: How Rape Kits Work Saturday, August 16, 2025

Rape kits are simple forensic evidence collection kits used when someone is sexually assaulted. But the story is deeper than this. Learn all about rape kits, the sad backlog problem, and what you can do to help, in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Heavy Metal Pt II Thursday, August 14, 2025

In part two of Heavy Metal Week Josh and Chuck break down how specialized heavy metal music has become, talk about some of the great album covers, look at how metal hits the brain, and explain the sad death of guitar great Randy Rhoads.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Short Stuff: Devil Horns Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Metal fans have many ways to express themselves, but none are as metal as throwing the devil horns. But who did it first?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Heavy Metal Pt I Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Some of the most talented musicians in the world play heavy metal, some of the hardest-hitting music ever made. In this episode Chuck and Josh wade into the history of the genre, and try to get to the bottom of where the name came from.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Selects: The Disappearance of Flight MH370, Part II Saturday, August 9, 2025

In the absence of an official explanation of why flight MH 370 disappeared in 2014, conjecture and conspiracy theories have filled the vacuum. Find out the current state of things in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Selects: The Disappearance of Flight MH370, Part I Saturday, August 9, 2025

In 2014, a Boeing 777 airliner disappeared. Despite two full years of searching an area of ocean covering more than 120,000 square kilometers, it has never been found. It is the only unexplained missing vessel in modern aviation history. Listen to this classic episode and find out more about what exactly happened.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.